Pre-Mature, but will PS4 be in first place next-gen?

The original PlayStation dominated the competition, knocking Nintendo's N64 off their high-horse and sending SEGA into a desperate frenzy.

PlayStation 2 came out and dominated even more... becoming the best selling home console ever.

PS3, while not as dominant as it's predecessors, has still sold 75+ Million units globally. It is basically tied with Xbox360 in sales despite coming out an entire year later (year and a half later in Europe) and being more expensive ($599 at Launch). IMO Sony did everything to screw up the PS3's launch and it hurt their reputation a lot, but they still somehow made a comeback and did what no one thought was possible. They tied 360 in sales (give or take.... whoever has the lead right now, its by an insignificant margin).

Now this gen, Wii U has Launched first and is doing pretty abysmal sales. The new Xbox is strongly rumoured to have weaker specs than the PS4. Sony has struck before MS and has generated a ton of buzz for the PS4. The Launch window looks pretty good with Drive Club, Killzone, Knack, Watch Dogs, ACIV:Black Flag, and more. Plus securing exclusive content for Bungie's Destiny was a solid move. 2014 will probably see Infamous:Second Son and Uncharted 4 come out.

The controller has been upgraded. PS4's online is up to par, if not better than XBL. PS4 is dev-friendly and will be easier to develop for.

And the way I look at it, if Sony could tie 360 with the PS3 despite all their screw ups.... then next gen should be an easy victory considering they're both coming out around the same time and Sony has promised the new console won't be $599 like PS3 was.

Its too early to predict like people have said but today at university I overheard a conversation where one guy was talking to another about how he had no reason to stick with microsoft anymore. Some of his reasons were:
Bungie has moved to ps4 (apparently he didn't know that destiny will also come to xbox)
The controller has improved
All other studios sony has

I think the battle between sony and MS will be even closer. The roles might even be reversed from this gen (ps4 slight advantage)

I wonder when a nuclear warhead goes off, does the frame rate of real life drop?

Very good chance that it will. Sony has regained a lot of the momentum they lost at the beginning of this generation and they would be at a huge disadvantage with price, release date and third-party game performance this time.

It is very possible and likely that Nintendo will turn things around for the Wii U in Japan, but I am not sure they will be able to outside of Japan. They may have a temporary boost now and then but I don't think it will be enough to overcome either the PS4 or the next Xbox.

The line-up for third-party support for the PS4 and likely the next Xbox is already looking very good for this early on. I just don't think Nintendo is going to be able to keep up without decent third-party support.

Very hard to tell, if MS and Nintendo can convince people with a lower price point and exclusive software then Sony might have a problem on their hands but this is just wild speculation. Great hardware doesn't make for a winner unfortunately but Sony does have a lot of services to back up that.

We can't rule anyone out yet this includes Wii U which does have the potential to expand rapidly provided Nintendo handle it properly in the next 6-12 months,

Very hard to tell, if MS and Nintendo can convince people with a lower price point and exclusive software then Sony might have a problem on their hands but this is just wild speculation. Great hardware doesn't make for a winner unfortunately but Sony does have a lot of services to back up that.

We can't rule anyone out yet this includes Wii U which does have the potential to expand rapidly provided Nintendo handle it properly in the next 6-12 months,

I don't know if Nintendo can turn it around. They struck gold with Wii.... but Wii U just isn't catching on. The name alone is an anchor to that console. 3rd party support is weak, and will continue to get weaker when PS4 comes out.

I don't know if Nintendo can turn it around. They struck gold with Wii.... but Wii U just isn't catching on. The name alone is an anchor to that console. 3rd party support is weak, and will continue to get weaker when PS4 comes out.

Nintendo $#@!ed themselves with the Wii U and MS could potentially $#@! themselves with apps. Right now PS4 is ALL about gamers, game developers andgaming, Sony is a content producing juggernaught and 3rd party are already drooling. MS won't have the multiplat advantage tnext gen, and if it doesn't bring some serious games, then yeah, Sony will probably dominate.

First off it's a PlayStation site which makes the poll pointless. We know where the bias here lies.

Second... I don't care who is #1. Only fanboys care. Sony was cut down to size and that's all that matters to me. It's a more even console platform field now...... a very good thing! Sony being #1 next gen won't make me like my PS4 anymore and won't make me like my Xbox 720 any less.

Oh and to the OP...... PS2 had almost a 2 year head start over Gamecube and the Xbox. I guess Nintendo and Microsoft can use that excuse too as to why they weren't #1 that console generation.

First off it's a PlayStation site which makes the poll pointless. We know where the bias here lies.

Second... I don't care who is #1. Only fanboys care. Sony was cut down to size and that's all that matters to me. It's a more even console platform field now...... a very good thing! Sony being #1 next gen won't make me like my PS4 anymore and won't make me like my Xbox 720 any less.

Oh and to the OP...... PS2 had almost a 2 year head start over Gamecube and the Xbox. I guess Nintendo and Microsoft can use that excuse too as to why they weren't #1 that console generation.

I hate these kind of comments. I don't really care about how many jiggleflops the PS3/360/PS4/720 CPU has but it doesn't mean that those who discuss it are fanboys. People like discussing different metrics/topics in the gaming industry, especially those who spend time on a gaming forum as they are generally gaming and gaming industry enthusiasts. So let's leave that bull$#@! at the door.

First off it's a PlayStation site which makes the poll pointless. We know where the bias here lies.

Second... I don't care who is #1. Only fanboys care. Sony was cut down to size and that's all that matters to me. It's a more even console platform field now...... a very good thing! Sony being #1 next gen won't make me like my PS4 anymore and won't make me like my Xbox 720 any less.

Oh and to the OP...... PS2 had almost a 2 year head start over Gamecube and the Xbox. I guess Nintendo and Microsoft can use that excuse too as to why they weren't #1 that console generation.

Discussing/Predicting/etc. console sales is something that has been going on for years on just about every gaming forum. Carrying this over into next gen doesn't make anyone a fanboy just because it doesn't favor your opinion.

You state yourself that you cared that Sony wasn't number 1 this current gen but now you are upset that some of us are discussing that Sony has a good chance of recapturing the top spot?

Xbox and Gamecube sales (even combined) didn't come anywhere near close to what the PS2 sold. The Xbox 360 with a huge starting price advantage and a year head start is basically tied with the PS3 in worldwide sales now. If it wasn't for the year head start or the huge price advantage I have no doubt the PS3 would be ahead of the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales. The same can not be said for the Xbox and Gamecube with the PS2.

Discussing/Predicting/etc. console sales is something that has been going on for years on just about every gaming forum. Carrying this over into next gen doesn't make anyone a fanboy just because it doesn't favor your opinion.

You state yourself that you cared that Sony wasn't number 1 this current gen but now you are upset that some of us are discussing that Sony has a good chance of recapturing the top spot?

Xbox and Gamecube sales (even combined) didn't come anywhere near close to what the PS2 sold. The Xbox 360 with a huge starting price advantage and a year head start is basically tied with the PS3 in worldwide sales now. If it wasn't for the year head start or the huge price advantage I have no doubt the PS3 would be ahead of the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales. The same can not be said for the Xbox and Gamecube with the PS2.

I wouldn't have cared if Sony won this current gen with the PS3. I didn't care about who was #1, I only cared that none of them are dominate over the others.

And as for fanboys? It's my OPINION. To me, those that care who is #1...... be it any of the fans of any of the three console makers..... fit that definition in MY opinion. If you don't agree, then you can use your own term for them.

I kinda hope Sony is #1 only because it will stop the whining threads complaining about Sony not being #1. Ever heard of the saying "Can't win them all?". Well guess what.... Sony didn't come in #1 this time. Better luck next time....right?

Why any console maker has to be in the #1 spot to make anybody happy as a gamer is beyond me. Just sell enough to keep going and the rest is simply gravy.

Discussing/Predicting/etc. console sales is something that has been going on for years on just about every gaming forum. Carrying this over into next gen doesn't make anyone a fanboy just because it doesn't favor your opinion.

Its one thing to predict, its another to predict without even knowing what you are up against, that is "blind" fanboyisim.

You state yourself that you cared that Sony wasn't number 1 this current gen but now you are upset that some of us are discussing that Sony has a good chance of recapturing the top spot?

No I think hes pointing out the fact that this is about as "BLIND" as you can get.

Xbox and Gamecube sales (even combined) didn't come anywhere near close to what the PS2 sold. The Xbox 360 with a huge starting price advantage and a year head start is basically tied with the PS3 in worldwide sales now. If it wasn't for the year head start or the huge price advantage I have no doubt the PS3 would be ahead of the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales. The same can not be said for the Xbox and Gamecube with the PS2.

Times have changed, the brand name Xbox is a popular now as PlayStation, its one to thing to say "if this or that" last gen, and you are right, they had such a strong brand name back then, and they pissed it away, and let MS in the door.
But at the time, we all would have predicted they would have won last gen hands down.

Too early to tell, for all we could know MS could be releasing a beast of a machine at £100.

Couldn't care less where who ever finished though. I don't have shares invested in them so I've never really saw the fascination in following sales it all means nothing to us, In the grand scheme of things unless of course you have shares in them.

The only thing I can say confidently at the moment is it will have a stronger launch than the PS3 did. It won't be a year (16 months in PAL territories) late to market, it looks like a more cohesive unit, it surely can't be as expensive and most importantly it doesn't sound undercooked in the software/OS department.

Playstations traditionally have a strong middle and very strong end to life cycles so if they just bring the start up to par, they'll do fine.

The only thing I can say confidently at the moment is it will have a stronger launch than the PS3 did. It won't be a year (16 months in PAL territories) late to market, it looks like a more cohesive unit, it surely can't be as expensive and most importantly it doesn't sound undercooked in the software/OS department.

Playstations traditionally have a strong middle and very strong end to life cycles so if they just bring the start up to par, they'll do fine.

You, me and many others across just about every gaming site/forum and many products/services have done the very same thing as this thread is doing.

This is no different than predicting what the next game in a franchise will sale or even what next months NPD results will be. Opinion does and always will play a big part in these predictions. You can use past experience/sales to help aid in the prediction but you can not account for everything and that is exactly what is going on in this thread.

Everyone here knows that not everything is known, that the market is fickle and that anything can happen. There is absolutely no way to account for everything, even once the consoles are released

There will always be unknown variable that can change any prediction, that doesn't mean predictions can not be made and/or discussed(yes at any point). None of this makes a person a "blind fanboy".

Originally Posted by mynd

But at the time, we all would have predicted they would have won last gen hands down.

There would have been nothing wrong with making that prediction. Would have been wrong about the prediction but wouldn't have been anything wrong about making that prediction.

There is no way anyone could have account for everything that went wrong for the PS3, even after launch. But they could account for past PS2 sales and base a prediction on that.

So the prediction was wrong. So what? So are many other predictions. That doesn't mean the predictions were groundless. Besides who did it hurt? What did it hurt? How did this make anyone a fanboy?

Are u serious? Predicating on the basis of not even knowing your competition? Of course thats blind, because you dont even care what others do.

You are acting like we know nothing about the competition.

This also isn't the first go around for Microsoft and Sony competing against either other. We know that the PS2 greatly outsold the Xbox. We know that despite all the mistakes Sony made, the huge price advantage and the year head start the PS3 and Xbox 360 are basically tied.

It appears Sony is correcting the majority of the mistakes they made with the PS3. We know the next Xbox won't have a year head start and while the similar price is an assumption, it is an very likely and educated assumption. This is plenty to have a discuss on predictions.

Is there a chance the predictions will be wrong? Without a doubt. Same can be said for predictions made a year or two from now. No amount of info is going to change this. There is nothing blind or fanboy like about this.

Times have changed, the brand name Xbox is a popular now as PlayStation, its one to thing to say "if this or that" last gen, and you are right, they had such a strong brand name back then, and they pissed it away, and let MS in the door.
But at the time, we all would have predicted they would have won last gen hands down.

Well think about this. Xbox was at about 24 million and the PS2 at 125 million when the Xbox 360/PS3 came out. That's a PS2 ownership ratio of just over 5 to 1 over the Xbox. The PS3 20GB fatty was only $100 more then the Xbox 360 Premium..... which was the clear dominant selling 360 console at the time over the hard drive-less 360 core.

Now the PS3 had the advantage of a blu-ray player, built-in wi-fi and could use cheap PC hard drives.... unlike the 360. YET...... at the end of this gen, they are JUST NOW neck and neck with the 360.

A $100 price difference and a year head start contributed SOMETHING to this situation. But going from a 5:1 ratio down to a 1:1 ratio in just ONE console gen, doesn't even come close to being easily explained by those two reasons. Especially since for years people haven't batted an eye at buying expensive new phones every year to every other year. Clearly Microsoft stepped up their game.

But I don't care why it happened, just that it happened. That there is no longer the Nintendo bully of the 80's and 90's and no Sony bully of the 90's and the 00's. They are all on pretty much even footing now.

My fear is that this next-gen or the one after it will be the end of consoles as we know them. Especially with the likes of Apple, Google and Steam. Streaming may be the future of gaming and if so, the provider does all the computing for us and we simply use a box to decode the video stream and send control movements back to the servers.

The gaming is what matters, but a little piece of my gaming heart will die when the conventional console we've loved over the years dies too.